How expensive is tolerance? – Diversity in Unity

Ir. Soekarno, the founding father of Indonesia, opposed the first concept of Five Principles (Pancasila) in Jakarta Charter in The Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Indonesian Independence’s meeting. Soekarno believed Indonesia should not stand of one race, one religion, or one ethnic, but the concept of diversity should stand from many races, religions, and ethnics that can be united as a nation.

Soekarno said, “Not only Indonesian people believe in God, but every Indonesian people should believe in their God. People should believe in god culturally, without religious egoism. Let us run the civilized religion, mutual respect. Divinity is in noble character.” Soekarno fought the divinity concept that Indonesia is majority of Moslem people, so the divinity concept should be based on Islamic law. Soekarno said the tolerance in Indonesia should be established, Five Principles is the basic ideology to create it. Although Soekarno got many struggles from Islamic figures in this meeting, Soekarno had still stood in his conviction.

Soekarno realized the importance of tolerance in a state since the preparatory of Indonesia birth. Without tolerance, democracy could not be upheld in social life. Tolerance is the most important matter to support democracy because if we could not understand each other, could not respect the diversity, and force our egoism, it will be impossible to maintain democracy. Tolerance and democracy are two times that be interdependent. Without tolerance, democracy could not exist. Without democracy, tolerance will be useless. That is why a country that holds democracy as the way of political proceeding will deserve the highest value of tolerance.

The price of tolerance in democracy

Since childhood, we are studied in the school and by our family about the value of tolerance. It means how important the tolerance in our life. Soekarno has consented his friendship with Kartosoewirjo when he insisted on maintaining Indonesia should exist as a pluralism country, without discriminate other religions, races, and political believes. Oftentimes, to learn about tolerance, we should volunteer to abandon our selfish and interest. How much is the tolerance in our self? It is too expensive to buy by money. It is too difficult to pay by our egoism. Tolerance is one of many things in the world that could not be bought by everything except sacrifice to respect the diversity.

Tolerance and democracy are two things that making a mutualism symbiotic.

There is something that should be realized about tolerance. Tolerance is not limited about religion, race, and ethnic. Moreover, tolerance can be talking about political views, public opinions, etc. In this era, the diversity in political views, public opinions, etc. can be the reason of conflict. That is why the intention of tolerance should be increased in democracy countries. More democratic is a country, so the intention of tolerance should be increased, because one of democratic elements is freedom for citizens. This freedom can become the problem when people cannot respect the diversity and accept it as a normal.

Tolerance is so expensive when people cannot accept it appropriately.

Social Media Roles for Tolerance

Social media is not a new thing since we have known internet. Social media helps people to interact each other. Now, social media can become the supplementary of telephone or post. Social media can influent many people around the world in short meter. Social media utilizing has already spread around stratum. Over time, people realized social media has another function: spread the value and influences of interests.

Social media is the easiest way to spread the tolerance in this time. It can be happened because the intention of social media using is increasing each passing day. The effect of social media influences is also increasing. Now, social media can play its roles to share the value of tolerance. Perhaps, in the future, social media using will be even greater.

Social media is dominated by youth. The easiness of social media using in this time is also supporting the interest of people in social media. Therefore, it will be possible if we promote the value of tolerance via social media. For example, I am a student that using social media to share the value of tolerance in political view of Indonesian Presidential Election 2014. I use social media for fighting the black campaign of both president candidates and promote the diversity of political view with other citizens is a fairly. I ever posted on my Path, a social media that can share about my thought, related the black campaign. I could see how many people that read my post in the path. It will be my way to control the influence of tolerance. For me, it is the easiest way that I can do in a simple time.

Another way that we can do to promote tolerance via social media is campaigning what is tolerance and the importance of it in our life, especially for people who live in democratic country. Campaign can be the way to give the influence via advertising, video, words, etc. The concept of campaign is usually composed and arranged, so the objective of the campaign can be achieved well. Moreover, so many ways that can we do via social media, in simple way or more than of it. However, tolerance should be the main basic of play in social media. The objective of promoting tolerance will not be achieved if we do not uphold the diversity around us.

Gautama Buddha said, “Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant with the weak and wrong. Sometime in your life, you will have been all of these.”